CHASING THE DREAM:
LEVI RAINS
Levi Rains had plenty of strong results throughout the 2019 racing season, finishing the majority of his races inside the top ten or better, including an impressive 8th place overall finish in the 51cc (4-6) Special Limited class at the Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Championship. The rider out of Missouri really picked it up about a month later at the Baja Brawl as he found another gear, claiming 3rd place overall in the 51cc (4-8) Special Limited class as well as a 5th place overall in the heavily competitive (4-6) Limited division. Rains was on pace for a great finish at The Motoplayground Race at Ponca City, winning one of his first motos to put him in title contention, but an unfortunate incident on the track sidelined him for the remainder of the weekend. He had a solid end to the year at Mini Os and has undoubtedly carried that momentum into the 2020 season, participating in many gate drops and finishing on the podium at every single event that he’s attended thus far. Rains has established himself as one of the front runners in the (4-6) Limited and Special Limited classes this year, proving he’s going to be in the title hunt when the amateur motocross community converges at the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch this coming August. We caught up with Levi to get the lowdown on how he’s been spending the past couple of months during quarantine and what he’s got coming up for the remainder of the year.
What did you do for the few months that there was absolutely no racing happening?
Me and my family did a lot of fishing together down at Lake of the Ozarks and we rode the private track that we have in our backyard.
Did you take some time off riding when racing was postponed?
I still rode a few days a week at our home track with my sister Lexi.
What was your riding situation like the last couple of months?
I’ve noticed there are a lot more racers at the races since racing started back up about a month ago, there have been record numbers at all the races which is great.
What sort of hobbies do you have outside of motocross?
Crappie fishing with my family.
Tell us about how your weekend at the Baja Brawl went last year, coming away with a 3rd overall in the (4-8) Special Limited class.
That was a good race weekend still coming off some first-year jitters but I did manage to pull off my first National holeshot at that race.
How did the weekend of racing go last year at Ponca City?
Ponca started off well by winning the first heat in the junior class. Moto two didn’t go so well because an incident happened on track that put me out of the event for the rest of the weekend.
Apart from the racing, what was it like to participate in the AMBUCS race during the evening?
The AMBUCS Race was a very fun race to attend! I plan on doing it again this year; it’s cool to see the smiles we put on the faces of those who can’t experience the things I get to do.
What was the experience like for you racing Supercross Futures at the beginning of the season?
St. Louis Supercross was the first time I had ever been in an event like that. I went out and wrecked going into the whoops on the first lap of practice. Ricky Carmichael ended up picking me up and helping me get back on my way which was a really cool experience. We ended up second on the JR to qualify for the Monster Energy Cup.
What was the weekend of racing like for you at Spring A Ding Ding?
Spring A Ding Ding 2020 was a really cool event. It's the first time I made it on the podium at a national event while also pulling off a couple of holeshots while being there. I also finished in the top fifteen in 50cc Open. That was a great confidence booster heading into next year!
How do you like the track at Underground MX?
Underground is a great training facility although for the 2020 Loretta’s season, I’ll be training at SSR in Indiana with Steven Squires Racing. We’re excited to be here and look forward to what it can bring!
What did it feel like to be back at the races at the Justin Brayton Shootout and the Fly Racing Showdown?
The Justin Brayton Shootout was a really cool event! I got to meet Justin along with a couple of other pros that weekend. Racing went really well, winning most of my classes and pulling off several holeshots. I ran my JR in the 50 Open class, managing to pull several holeshots again in the SR class.
What’re your goals and plans heading into Loretta’s this season?
With the plans in place and hard work and dedication, my goals for Loretta’s this year are to hopefully make it on the box against some very great competition this year in the (4-6) JR class and I’m also very excited to see what happens in the eBike class.
Do you know what classes you’ll be racing moving into 2021?
For 2021 I’ll be an AMA seven-year-old so I’ll be running the (7-8) SR class and starting to train on the 65s.